Oh, my gosh, thank you everyone!
I will totally call our insurance, I didn't know that about LCs.

To answer some questions:
She IS really sleepy. I have undressed her for feeds, which helped. I use breast compression during feeding if she slows down. I switch sides sometimes if she slows down, unless I know she was nursing to go to sleep.

We've been using a syringe to supplement. At first is seemed like a good idea because it would avoid nipple confusion, but she really likes how fast it comes from the syringe and even figured out how to suck it out. I tried a SNS with my son and was so frustrated, but DD's latch is better than DS was, I think.

Her latch was "approved" by the LC at the hospital. It did hurt to nurse her at first,but that pretty quickly became just a little hurting at the beginning of each session, which lasted until my milk came in, and now it doesn't hurt at all. It looks good on the surface, from what I can tell. It does get shallower as she falls asleep.

My nipples are very different, and I think she does prefer one side over the other, but will take either if I persist in offering.

I have started Fennugreek and Yogi, nursing support tea. My Ped also recommended drinking broth, so my SIL made me some before DD was born. I am drinking tons of water, food is harder but we've managed well so far! Our fridge is totally stocked.

The hospital has a LC hot line which I just called and am waiting for a call back.

I will try the beer (which I hate the taste of!) and ovaltine which I didn't know about.

Thanks again!!

__________________Kimberly, wife to Martin , Catholic, Waldorf, RIE inspired mama to Benjamin David(2-14-11) and Mariah Celeste(3/28/13) Trying everyday to love this world in the right way.

I had a very sleepy baby, too, so I know your frustration. There's a video on YT put up by a mom who was having issues with her sleepy baby and the LC gave her several tricks to get her to wake up. If I can find it, I will send it to you in a pm. I have a cranky baby in my hands right now.

You can't afford to not see a Lactation Consultant then. A year of formula will cost WAY more than an LC. Call some local LC's. They will often work with you on a payment plan if that is what it takes. They want you to succeed (maybe more than even you want to succeed!).

Does LLL have free help? As far as I could tell from the few meetings I have been to, they can give you advice,but not actual assessment unless the leader is a lactation consultant. In which case I could hire them if I could afford them. But I can't.

I don't know who else to turn to immediately.

The back back story (This is not the situation with my new LO, for reference)
My DS was severely underweight at birth (IUGR) and was in the NICU for two weeks, he started latching once we got home. I nursed him exclusively for two weeks. He lost so much weight he ended up back in the hospital. After we got home I pumped and supplemented (with formula mostly) until he was four months old and gave up because it was too stressful and I found that I wasn't actually nursing him in order to save time in the nursing-bottle-feeding-pumping cycle. There were a thousand reasons our relationship was the way it was.

I had high hopes of things being different this time!

NOW: New baby girl:
So, my LO is 3 and a half weeks old and we discovered that she is loosing weight. Pediatrician knows all about it; she suggested I start supplementing, but didn't recommend pumping, in fact said she didn't think it was nec. I have been supplementing up to 1.5 oz every three hours, baby usually takes about 1oz.

I am freaking out because I don't want to loose what little supply I have and I don't know who to call.

It's been like this:
She was 6lbs, 14 oz at birth.
She was 6lbs, 4 oz at discharge at about 36 hours
She was 5lbs, 15 oz at first check up at 5 days
She was 6lbs, 2oz at 8 days

My milk came in very obviously on day 3.5, this was very different from my expereince with my son (with him I never felt it come in).

Week two went perfectly.

She started cluster feeding like crazy mid-week three and after three days of screaming after all feedings and switching sides for hours at a time ( I assumed it was a growth spurt) I felt more milk come in! I was super jazzed!

But she still looked super skinny to me and when we went back to the ped at three and a half weeks she was back down to 5lbs, 15 oz.

So that is where we are now. I don't know what to do.

SOMEWHAT of an UpDate in post 12.

Mama, I am not a specialist but had quite a breastfeeding experience times 3 kids, and that actually seems like a NORMAL weight pattern for the beginning. I might be a little concerned about the drop back to 5, 12.
Please check out the WHO growth chart, your doctor likely uses AAP's. See if there is still concerns.
There is a possibility you are now over producing due to her cluster feeding. Sometimes a Mama will produce too much milk and baby fills on foremilk, never getting to the fatty hindmilk. I suggest very careful block nursing. Block nursing saved my nursing relationship with baby 3. If done correctly it can slowly decrease your supply so baby and supply can adjust together.
I saw WIC mentioned, I second that, but be cautious (I have had some very useful help and some very negative experiences through WIC.)
Ask your hospital, local doulas, midwives and OBs, or anyone else connected to mamas and babies. Someone will know somebody willing to help.
La Leche League.
Call your insurance. Many will provide/pay for at least one free consultation.
Look for a better educated pediatrician.

There are a few medical situations where formula is the magic milk, but most of the time it does more harm than good. Every supplemented bottle is a chance lost to perfect breastfeeding. I went through two heart-wrenching experiences with breastfeeding, which could have been prevented. My third child was not a walk in the park either, but we did figure it all out. I hope the best for you mama!

How many scales have been used in weighing your baby? Unless it is always done on the same scale, there can be small differences -- and when you are looking to every ounce as important, they add up.

"She was 6lbs, 14 oz at birth.
She was 6lbs, 4 oz at discharge at about 36 hours
She was 5lbs, 15 oz at first check up at 5 days
She was 6lbs, 2oz at 8 days"

I am sure you know we expect babies to lose up to 10% of their birth weight and be back to birth weight by two weeks.

How was your birth? Did you have IV fluids? And if so, for how long? IVs pump you with fluid, and they also pump up your baby; this artificially inflates baby' birth weight, and then baby appears to lose more than what is accurate, so if you had an IV for any length of time, that could be part of the issue when it comes to loss.

Once the mature milk comes in, babies should gain 4-7 ounces a week. From what you have shared, she gained 3 ounces in 3 days? From day 5 to day 8? If so, Mama that is great .

The best tool you have at home is to count wet and poopy diapers -- 6-8 wet diapers and 3-4 poops.

P.S. While the hops, yeast, and barley in beer can act as a galactogogue, that can be countered by the alcohol in the beer:

Quote:

Effects of alcohol on breastfeeding and the breastfed baby
■Alcohol does not increase milk production. In fact, babies nurse more frequently but take in less milk in the 3-4 hours after mom has had a drink, and one study showed a 23% decrease in milk volume with one drink (Mennella & Beauchamp 1991, 1993; Mennella 1997, 1999).
■2+ drinks may inhibit let-down (Coiro et al 1992; Cobo 1974).
■One study showed changes in the infant’s sleep-wake patterning after short-term exposure to small amounts of alcohol in breastmilk — infants whose mothers were light drinkers slept less (Mennella & Gerrish 1998).
■Daily consumption of alcohol has been shown in the research to increase the risk for slow weight gain in the infant.
■Daily consumption of alcohol (1+ drinks daily) has been associated with a decrease in gross motor development (Little et al 1989).

The best way to make milk is to remove milk, like an ice maker -- simply put, when the milk is pulled out, the body makes more milk; if the milk sits and stays, the body doesn't make more milk.

Lots of great advice already. Also wanted to mention that you may want to try block feeding. What are her poops like? May be a foremilk/hindmilk issue. I agree w pp who said you can't afford not to see a LC. Reach out to local mw lc etc. Most women in these fields are there bc they are passionate about it. They will be willing to work with you.

Sent from my phone using DS Forum

__________________
Lora, blessed to be a wife to Aaron- 11 years and a Mom to DD Ella-7, DD Ava-5, Olivia-3, Weston-1I sell SCENTSY!!!Labor and delivery resources HERE

LLL leaders will give free individual help, either in person (like after a meeting, or even sometimes coming to your home) or on the phone. I got help from one on the phone when my DD was a couple of weeks old. That plus a little hands-on help from my midwife was all we needed to go on to have a very long and successful nursing relationship.

It actually sounds like you're doing fine, more or less. My cousin's baby lost more weight than usual and was a very slow gainer. They had problems with latch, mastitis, nipple confusion, etc. She stayed with it and ended up nursing him well over a year.

Count your wet diapers and poops, make sure she's wetting enough and her poo isn't abnormal. My cousin's doctor suggested she pump after everyfeding and keep that milk (hindmilk) separate in the fridge, then give that to her baby by dropper several times throughout the day. My own advice is to express milk in the shower then fed baby directly afterward. You'll stll have a letdown and there will still be foremilk but not as much.

I agree with the block feeding, too, if your lo is soiling enough diapers. We always had to do that after a growth spurt. Good luck!